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Fit Bunn

Everyone knows what happens this time of year - more food, more alcohol and more laziness! Well, not me. This winter I am keeping control of my life and spending the 6 week run-up to Christmas getting super-fit.

I've got myself a fitness plan with activities every day - the daily cycle-commute to work along with some longer bikes in there too, push-ups, arm workouts, core workouts and runs. Our meal plans have been juggled to be a bit healthier whilst maintaining a good carb:protein ratio to compliment the mix of cardio and strength training I have planned.

Why am I boasting? Well, I want you to join me of course! Although I have my dedicated fitness blog, Running Bunn, I think it's important to include a bit of fitness over here too. Everyone should be doing some exercise, I was an 'ideal weight' but very unhealthy for years. Now I can happily say all that lethargy and depression has been severely punished and I actually really look forward to a good workout these days!

So, make yourself some fitness goals for winter, whether it's to run up the stairs instead of walking or to finally get that 5k run done in under 40minutes. When I get up in the morning to see pouring rain I know I can't just get the bus because I wouldn't reach my goal that way, it's such a great motivator! And I bet you'll feel fantastic come Christmas Day.

Spiced Blood Orange Infusion

As much as I adore mulled wine I have been trying to cut down on my alcohol intake for a while now, so I need a good alternative for the winter.



You will need:
125g Blood Orange Pure Fruit Tea - The best is from Wilkinson's of Norwich.
1 Cinnamon stick broken into small pieces
1tsp Cloves, crushed
1tsp Black peppercorns, crushed
1tsp Cardomom seeds (not the green pods, the bits inside), crushed
¼ Nutmeg, grated

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, ensuring the spices are evenly distributed. Pack into a dry jar until required. A few weeks will allow the spices to mix an mellow a bit.
Allow ½ dessert spoon of tea per cup. Ideally make it in a teapot and allow to steep for 5 minutes before straining into cups or mugs. If you like a sweeter drink add a little honey or brown sugar and a drop of vanilla essence.

I love Sequins!

I love Christmas (yes I said that word!) and I really love getting dressed up so I tend to make a big deal of every single day during December. I'm really glad that sequins are now considered OK to wear rather than in the sole the domain of Pat Butcher because they make everything sparkly and beautiful. So, here's some of my favourite bits from around the web to brighten the dark nights, and days, of Winter. Obviously they don't go together, but this way you could have a bit of sequin sparkle every day!

Sequin Cowboy Boots - £235 - Wrap

Daisy Sequin Leggings - £15 - Boohoo

Sequin Heart Mock Shirt - £24 - Next

Sequin Disc Necklace - £16 - East

Lipsy Ballerina Dress - £65 - ASOS

Tuna & Vegetable Couscous

Sandwiches can be so dull. This week I decided to make a Mediterranean inspired tuna couscous for me, the Mr and the kid to enjoy for lunch (even though we'll all be eating it in different places!) Sorry I can't give amounts, I always guesstimate.

Ingredients
Couscous
Vegetable boullion (I use Marigold, but Knorr or Oxo might do)
Aubergine
Courgette
Yellow Pepper
Mushrooms
Cherry tomatoes
Olives
Feta
Tinned tuna (I use Reel Fish because it's responsibly sourced and tastier than most other brands)
Olive oil
Sesame oil
Fresh mint
Lemon juice

Method

1. Pour as much couscous as you need into a big bowl with a teaspoon of boullion/stock powder and cover with boiling water. Leave to soak in for 5 minutes before fluffing up with a fork.
2. Cut the feta into chunks and add to the couscous along with the olives, fresh mint, a squeeze of lemon juice and the tuna.
3. Slice all your vegetables, brush with a mixture of olive and sesame oils and char on the griddle until tender. You'll need to do this in batches, and you'll need to open a window too as it can get quite smoky!
4. When the vegetables are cooked and cooled, slice them a bit smaller if you like before adding to the cous-cous.
5. Mix it all up, add a load of black pepper, salt if needed and perhaps a squeeze more lemon juice.
6. Delicious for lunch with a cup of peppermint tea.

Soulmate Food Juice Cleanse

I've found myself getting really wound up this past week about one particular subject - detox diets. I've been stressing myself out about 'tailor made' 'lifestyle meals' company Soulmate food. In case you're in the same cocoon I obviously was and have never heard of them, this is a company which sends you ready meals through the post for an exorbitant fee of 'less than £25 a day'.

The part of their service I'm most interested in is the 'Juice Cleanse' which is a short-term detox diet. They say:

"Jump start your metabolism for long term benefits.
Our amazing fruit based, all natural cleanse not only rids your body of harmful toxins, but will help to increase metabolic performance and energy output, leading you on your journey to optimum health.
This scientifically designed juice and smoothie cleanse helps to improve efficiency of body function and digestion, due to a cleaner colon, leading to improved absorption of nutrients.
Greater efficiency equals enhanced energy levels and mental clarity."

The juices, which contain 'all natural ingredients', come as a three day package (18 juices, £150) or five days (30 juices, £200). Your daily allowance of 6 bottles comes numbered and named, but with no other information on ingredients or nutritional information. At first I thought this must be against the Food Labelling Regulations 1996 but, take a look at page 24 and you'll see that Soulmate food are exempt because they sell the products from the premises on which they are made.

Still, I wanted to find out a bit more about what was in the juices, so I emailed them asking for ingredients and nutritional information. Their response was:

Each juice contains around 900 calories per day and the flavours are as follows:
- detox breakfast - carrot, orange, ginger and super foods
- vitality - pineapple, banana and coconut
- berry active - antioxidant blend, cherries and mixed berries
- earth - a blend of berries
- tropical - orange, mango and passion fruit
- nutrilicious - strawberry, banana, grape and orange

Unfortunately an estimated calorie content for all six juices combined isn't exactly the nutritional breakdown I was after, and the flavours still don't tell me exactly what's in the juices. I decided to focus on finding out about ingredients and asked what exactly was in the 'super foods' and 'antioxidant blend'.

"The antioxidant blend is a concentrated blend of berries, as berries are brilliant antioxidants. Also, the superfoods is a blend of fruit, vegetables and mushroom extracts to increase mineral and vitamin content."

I was starting to get frustrated at this point, I couldn't understand why Soulmate food was so against disclosing the contents of their juices. I pressed for more information and asked for a full list of ingredients saying I have allergies, including several species of mushroom. Not entirely true, but I thought perhaps an allergy risk might make them more forthcoming. I was wrong.

"I would have to find out from our chefs about the exact ingredients. But I do know that we do not send anything to people with severe allergies as we are not a free from kitchen and the juices will be made amongst other things. We would strongly advise you not to do our juice cleanse."

Oh right, of course, so people with allergies should not buy these products. When you go through the ordering process there is a note at the bottom saying the service is not available for people with severe allergies but I still think the site is misleading. On the website they say they cater for people with food intolerances, and when you look into the Juice Cleanse information provided it appears that the only ingredients are those listed, there is no clue to there being a mysterious mix of fungus and vegetables in there.

Don't get me wrong, I know that legally this company does not have to disclose the ingredients or nutritional breakdown of their products, but shouldn't we be taking more responsibility for what goes into our bodies? You wouldn't buy anything from a supermarket without knowing the ingredients and if you asked for a list of ingredients in a restaurant and were fobbed of like I was by Soulmate food, wouldn't you be a bit suspicious?

On their website they cite one of their aims as educating people about healthy eating. How can you educate when you're hiding so much?

4 items, 4 outfits

Recently I realised that I have a severe lack of clothing that a) fits and b) isn't ancient. I decided that what I needed were some mix-and-match style items which can easily make the transition from slouchy mum to marketing queen and then classy cocktail drinker too. Well, here's what I ended up with...

Clockwise from top left : Cat Print Blouse, £19.50 M&S : Striped Cardigan, £39.50 Per Una : High Waist Bootcut Jeans, £28 Next : Rose Print Denim Jeggings, £25 M&S

And here's how I look...

Sorry about the rubbish photos - I'm not really a fashion blogger you know! Anyone else got wardrobe staples that go with everything?

Fashion Break: Military Coat

Having watched a whole lot of Torchwood recently I have fallen in love with the idea of a long blue military style coat. I stumbled across this in Next the other day and love it! Unfortunately, they only had it in a size 6 or 8 at the time, so I might have to order it online. Gorgeous quality and would look amazing with black jeggings and a pair of boots.

Military Belted Coat - £90 at next.co.uk

Glow in the Dark Halloween Roses

What smells like roses and glows in the dark? Glow in the dark roses!

These things are amazing. Perfect for a halloween party in the evening and gorgeous white roses during the day. These will be available from Interflora from 22nd - 31st October with next day delivery, so set yourself a reminder!

Project Life by Becky Higgins

I've tried scrapbooking very briefly before but always got disheartened by how boring and rubbish everything looked, and sticking photos and tickets and things down always felt a bit strange, a bit like I was ruining them.Then there's the amount of effort that goes into them. Hours are wasted just trying to get the right layout of combination of crazy patterned paper.

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So, when I saw the Project Life scrapbooks by Becky Higgins I was totally excited. Simple, easy and beautiful. You buy a binder, plastic pages of pockets and a 'core kit' containing all the notecards your heart could desire. Then you add photos, tickets, memories - and there's your scrapbook.

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As much as I really want to do one of these, the kit you need to start off comes at a staggering £58. The binder alone is £16.99. So for now I think I'll give it a miss, I don't think there's a hope in hell of me convincing Mr Bunn that £60 worth of stationery is money well spent.

Mission, craft room!

Today I have a project - Ashleigh and the Mr are out at rugby, I have two hours to myself. Am I going to have a long, luxurious bubble bath? No. Am I going to indulge by making a gorgeous, squidgy pumpkin cake? No. Am I going to clean the fish tank? No. Today, I'm going to take all my lovely craft supplies from their hiding place in the Harry Potter cupboard (you know, under the stairs?) and make myself a craft room!

My inspiration comes from Sew Many Ways. If you haven't seen this post you are obviously not spending enough time on pinterest. This room is amazing. I only have a little corner to work with, but I'm going to be using loads of the ideas found in the Sew Many Ways craft and sewing room.

So, here goes! Depending on how I get on you may very well see another post from me later today, so keep checking back. Wish me luck!

Review: Linicin Head Lice Treatment

Head Lice are always a bit of an embarrassing subject bringing up feelings of disgust in most people. The mere mention of them brings a tickly itch to anyone.

Having a 5 year old means that the little critters are an inevitable part of our lives now. Weekly (if not daily) combing to pry them off my daughter's hair, lotions and shampoos, old wives tales. It's a nightmare. The fact that Ashleigh has sensitive skin doesn't help either, and I'm not really a big fan of using harsh chemicals and pesticides on my child anyway. Luckily, I was recently sent some products from Linicin.

The first was their 15 Minute Lotion (£9.49 including comb) - it contains no insecticides and is kind enough to use from 6 months old (and also on pregnant and breast-feeding mums). It works by coating the hair and suffocating the lice whilst stopping the development of eggs. The lotion itself is an odourless oil which goes on really well. On Ashleigh's hair, which is a little past shoulder length, we used about half the bottle for the first treatment and the rest for the second 9 days later. I think for my very thick and very long hair we'd have needed at least a whole bottle though, so I stuck with the daily conditioning and combing. There are some great little games and activities on the Linicin website to keep Ashleigh occupied whilst she's waiting the required 15 minutes for the lotion to do its stuff. So, the lotion goes on, we wait, we wash and then we comb.

The second product I was sent wasLinicin Prevent Spray (£7.49). I simply spritz it onto Ashleigh's hair (once it's already in a nice, neat plait) and it keeps lice away all day at school. I don't know how, but it does. The bottle has lasted a good few weeks so far and is still half full.

The verdict? So far, so good. There were hardly any lice found in the second combing session and the prevent spray seems to have kept them at bay ever since. We're still doing weekly comb-throughs just to make sure but I'm really happy with both products.

You can buy all the products through the website and if you have kids I really recommend you do.

Fashion Focus: TLC Sport Clothing

Top £22 : Leggings £36

You may have seen over on Running Bunn that I recently got a lovely outfit from TLC Sport. Seeing as they're not a brand I'm familiar with I've spent a lot of time perusing their site. What I've found is that this is a family run, customer focused company catering for all shapes, sizes, fitness levels and activities. What more could you want?! Here's my selection of some of my favourite pieces from the site.

Review: TLC Sport - Performance

I was recently sent a couple of items from ladies sportswear brand TLC Sport. Currently celebrating its 20th year, TLC Sport has a huge range of clothing all designed and made here in the UK. One of my favourite things is how personal everything is - this is a family run business which really puts the customer first. For example, you can request plus-size items at no extra charge. Now that's service!

The ribbons make a recurring appearance throughout the collection. The grey vest I'm wearing is really comfortable and the stripes not only make you look slim but the fabric really does hold you in whilst you're working out. Great for when your doing a core workout like I was, it really encourages you to tense all those abs! The top is reversible too giving you the choice of a high or low neckline. Love the adaptability.

The leggings are figure firming and really live up to their promise! I've cycled to work in them a few times too and there's still no sagging around the knees or bum, something which really annoys me about most leggings.

Top £22
Leggings £36

I love this outfit. It's grown-up and functional, the pieces are comfortable and well made, I look like a proper fitness fanatic when I'm wearing it and more importantly I feel like one. I love the whole collection and am looking forward to topping up my workout wardrobe with more from the site.

Domestic Goddess in the Making

Embo Parko runs her own blog Swirlyface and also contributes to lifestyle site SinSins World. She's a domestic goddess in the making and bakes the second best cakes in the world. (OK, they might be the best but I'm Bunn The Baker, I've got to say I'm better!)

I was the least domesticated person I know. Yes, I cleaned and tidied up etc, but when it came to knitting/baking/domesticated things I was not ‘in the know’. I am a single woman of 29, completely independent, I don’t have kids to bake for either, so I basically felt like breaking the stereotype of the typical ‘at home baker’.

I made my first batch of cupcakes only a few months ago and they looked like this:

Fashion Break: Dr Martens Ofira Shoe

Oh my gosh! Look at these, just LOOK at them! I was perusing the DM website recently after a pair of winter boots when I stumbled across the heels section. My life will never be the same again. I bet they're really comfortable.

Dr Mertens Ofira Shoe - £110 at drmartens.co.uk

My Turn @ Craft Love: DIY Business Card Holders

I was feeling crafty last night so sat down with last weekend's Craft Love post - DIY Business Card Holders. I raided my stores for some scraps big enough to make a few and set to work.

All was going really well until I got to turning the whole thing right side out and one of the pockets had fallen out! That'll teach me for not using pins...

Well, I finished it off anyway (albeit quite roughly) and here's my attempt at a business card holder.

It was a really easy tutorial to follow and I think next time, as long as I use some pins, I'll make some lovely neat ones!

Craft Love: DIY Business Card Holders

Seeing as how I have my own business cards now, I'd like something to keep them all neat and tidy. So, when I found this 'How To' on The Crafty Cupboard I was over the moon! I love the fabrics used, the tutorial is simple and clear and the photography is beautiful! Can't wait to give it a go.

Sport Persuit Pop-Up Sales

I'm guessing that, seeing as you're here in the fitness section, you're into sports. As such, it would be safe to assume you like sports clothing and equipment. Me too! That's why I was so excited when I found out about Sport Pursuit. It's sort of like Brand Alley - pop-up sales where you get big brand stuff at tiny prices.

I was gutted to have missed the Shock Absorber sale, totally need a new sports bra, but there's some great other stuff on there too. You need to join in order to see the sales, but it's free so don't panic. Also, if you get friends to join you receive money off your orders.

So sign up to Sport Pursuit and bag yourself some bargains like these!

Beet It - I love beetroot, so the idea of a sports shot made of it. Apparently you can work out for 16% longer with one of these beauties, and they're around £1 each. Beetroot is full of antioxidants (which neutralise nasty free radicals in the body) so one of these a day will keep you looking and feeling great too.

Tresspass Iota Jacket - Now that Autumn is setting in and winter is ahead I need to get me something warm for the raing commute on my bike. Purple is my favourite colour ever, and this looks toasty warm and lovely. It's currently reduced from £100 to just £37.50 in the pop-up sale, a bargain I think you'll agree!

Lezyne Mini Drive LED Light - with the mornings and evenings getting darker I'm going to have to invest in some lights. This is super-bright (150 lumens) for dark country lanes but can be turned down if you're in urban areas, it's got a rechargeable Li-Ion battery and looks really cool. A snip at £25.50 - nearly 50% off.






So, those are my top picks, who knows what will be on there next though as the sales only last seven days and are constantly being updated! What are your favourites from the site?

8 of the Healthiest Long-Life Foods Your Body Will Love

The team who work at Gracewell Healthcare know the importance of maintaining a healthy work/
life balance. However, they have also learnt that it's hard to keep up a healthy diet when you are
constantly on the move. It's for this reason that they've come up with this list of foods that are long
lasting, high in nutritional value and easily stored in different areas of the home or office.

Organic Oats – Pantry

The best way of starting a busy day is to enjoy a bowl of granola, with delicious organic oats. You can store this type of food in the pantry for anywhere up to 3 months. The beta-glucan fibre found within the oats will keep your levels of serum cholesterol down, so that you are at a reduced risk of heart attacks and atherosclerosis.

Buddying Up

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Motivating yourself to exercise is all very well and good, but there will be some days when you don't feel like it and you will struggle to convince yourself that getting active is more important than watching Torchwood. That's where buddies come in.

You're going to come up with excuses now, like "none of my friends are into exercise!" or "I live too far away from everyone else". Shut-up. This, dear readers, is the 21st century. Distance is irrelevant!

Every day for the next month I will be doing the 30 Day Shred at either 6am or 8pm in my living room. Why don't you come and join me?! Not literally, obviously, but haven't you heard of Skype? So, if you want to join me leave a comment or  send an email to bunnali[a]gmail.com and I will send you my schedule and Skype details. See you there guys!

Flamenco Eggs

Flamenco /eggs

This meal is perfect for when you haven't got much in the cupboards. You can use any old left-over veg, just make sure to add plenty of paprika!

30 Day Shred

I've heard about the 30 Day Shred before, and I've heard it's pretty tough. Jillian Michaels (the one who makes fat Americans exercise until they're sick on The Biggest Loser) uses her 3-2-1 technique to get the best workout from the shortest time. That's strength-cardio-abs. 3-2-1. Easy.

Or not.

The DVD contains three workouts and I started with the easiest. I don't want to totally spoil it for you but there's star jumps, sit-ups, weights and Natalie who has the most amazing legs! (I also want Jillian's arms, they're fantastic) You don't get rest periods it's just straight into the next section. There were bits I found tougher, particularly some of the weights exercises for arms - mine are scrawny and weak at the moment.

I think, because I was expecting it to be so hard, I didn't give it my all. At the end I was tired and sweaty, but I could have been more tired and more sweaty. It's OK though, I have tonight to do it again! And I know I got a good workout because my calves and my shoulders are killing me this morning.

So, I think I'll continue level one this week, and perhaps try level two next week, but I can definitely see myself being a lot fitter by the end of this!

If you want to see how I looked by the end of the workout head over to Spikes and Heels to the #OperationHideous gallery.

Tee-Total Time

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I used to be quite a heavy drinker, I guess a lot of students are though. It always seemed perfectly acceptable to have a bottle of vodka before going out, shots and 99p bottles of fizzy e-numbers before somehow managing to make it home in one piece. I've had some close calls, I was beaten up by a rapist whilst drunkenly stumbling home in 2002, luckily a passer by saved me from what could have happened.

A few years ago I decided to really cut down on my consumption. Several nights where I could literally only remember the first two drinks then all's a blank until I woke up in bed, fully clothed, feeling like I was dying of death.

Since then I've still been drinking alcohol, and I've certainly had a few crazy nights and bleary memories. Recently I've started to notice just how bad my body feels even after just a few drinks. I get lethargic for days, headaches, dehydrated, tummy aches and really really grouchy.

So when @millwall_embo decided to quit drinking for the rest of the year I thought perhaps I'd join her for a while. For the next month (at least) I'm going to be a tee-totaler. I'm going to join some of the greats like Muhammad Ali, Brian Blessed and Catherine Tate. I'm not saying it's going to be forever, just for now.

An Introduction to Squatting

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Whether you are training to lose weight, increase size and strength or for sports - you should be squatting! Squats are a compound exercise, this means that they use more than one set of muscles. In fact squats are the most important compound exercise you can do. The main muscles used are the quads, glutes and hamstrings, but squats do a lot more than build lower body strength. Squatting correctly uses muscles over the whole of your body.

The Body Weight Squat

• Stand up straight with your feet shoulder width apart.
• Bend your knees and lower your upper body until your thighs are parallell to the floor (you can go down further into a deeper squat but make sure you go to at least parallell.)
• Ensure that your knees do not extend past the end of your toes.
• Look straight ahead. This will help keep the correct form and stop your back from arching.
• Push up through your heels to a standing position.
• Breathe in as you go down and out as you push up.
• Repeat!

It is a good idea to practice body weight squats for a while before adding weight. This ensures you are using the correct form and will help prevent any injuries.

Once you are comfortable with the body weight squat and can perform 20 reps quite easily - try it with an empty bar across your back.

• Place the empty bar (no weight plates) across the top of your back (not your neck!).
• Grip the bar with wide grip, palms facing forward.
• Squat! (remembering the flat back, knees not past the end of your toes and to push up through your heels.)

Adding Some Iron!

Once you are happy with your form with the empty bar it's time to add some weight. You will need to use a squat rack. If you don't have access to a squat rack, you can squat with dumbbells (see below).

• Step into the squat rack and set the bar a few inches below shoulder height.
• Check that the safety bars are low enough so that you can squat deeply.
• Duck under the bar and grab it with a wide grip, palms facing outwards.
• Rest the bar across the top of your back.
• Unrack the bar by standing up, whilst breathing out and then take a step back.
• Squat!
• When you have finished put the bar back onto the rack by stepping forwards and dropping it back down.

The Dumbbell Squat

If you don't have access to a squat rack you can still perform squats using dumbbells. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms down by your sides and perform the squat using the same technique as above.

Following this guide and squatting correctly won't just help you sculpt those Olympian legs - you will find that more iron on the squat bar will put a few extra kilos on your bench press, deadlift and other exercises too.

Craft Love: Pillowcase Dresses

There are some really gorgeous dresses for kids in the shops at the moment, but my budget just doesn't stretch. These dresses from Lark & Lola (tutorial link in her post) are lovely and it looks so easy to transform a gorgeous vintage pillowcase into a beautiful dress for your little 'un. Opt for darker colours (purples, blues and browns) and create an autumn look with a long sleeved top worn underneath the dress. Cute!